The present invention relates to an editing apparatus for editing reproduced picture images which is adapted to perform collecting plates and editing operations such as cropping (trimming) processing, border processing, flat tone mask processing, cutting mask processing etc. by a relatively compact and simple circuit composition in which the afore-mentioned processing operations can be achieved in real time, when a plurality of original pictures are sequentially scanned for recording reproduced picture images corresponding to the original pictures.
In recent years color picture scanning recording machines such as a color scanner etc. have come into widespread use in plate-making operation of color original pictures. Recently functions of the above described color scanner have been further developed so that additional correcting operation and plate collecting operation which conventionally have been carried out in the retouching and the film-development stages may be performed by layout color scanner system (total color scanner system) which can process the above mentioned operation by its digital picture image processing functions controlled by a computer as already being practically used in some places.
The layout color scanner system, as mentioned the above, is a system in which all processing functions and operations which are needed in practice for color plate making, (i.e., color separation, color gradation correction, magnification conversion, masking, additional correction) can be electronically carried out.
In the layout color scanner system of the above-mentioned type, the data of the picture image (usual color gradation correction and magnification conversion have already been performed) obtained by sequentially scanning a plurality of original color pictures is first accumulated in a memory having large capacity such as a disc memory; then, it is secondly necessary that picture image data be stored in the read/write memory; thirdly, electronic processing of additional computer corrections to the collecting plates converts stored data into picture images for display on a CRT, wherein layout is completely finished; and then, fourthly, the data of the finished layout is stored in a separate memory unit, and the layout finished picture image converted data is read out of the separate memory to be recorded in a recording medium.
However, in the conventional layout color scanner of the above-mentioned type, picture image data of all original pictures must first be stored in a memory, so that there are disadvantages which included the need to increase the capacity of the memory so that memory becomes very large and the system itself becomes very complicated.
Further, in such conventional layout color scanner system, there are many cases in which additional correction and collecting plates are processed by applying additional software techniques. The techniques are excellent in degree of freedom, however, processing speed is not necessarily high. The control program of such a system therefore becomes very complicated, making operation of the system very troublesome.